Guard whips out gun to save ‘sir’ from mob

INDRANIL SARKAR

Burdwan, Nov. 19: The police bodyguard of the Burdwan zilla parishad chief today whipped out his revolver to scare away an alleged Trinamul mob, leading to his removal from duty.

District superintendent of police S.M.H. Meerza said Madhusudan Ghosh’s action in front of the crowd of around 50 people was “not justified”. “The situation there was not so grave that he needed to pull out his revolver. He intimidated local people. He was also not in his uniform. I have closed him in the Burdwan police lines,” the officer said.

Today’s incident in Raina comes days after a person was killed when a police officer on being chased by a mob opened fire in Nadia’s Tehatta.

Police sources in Burdwan said the November 14 incident had made senior officers more cautious. “The Tehatta incident has made us more cautious. Madhusudan Ghosh took out his revolver to scare away people. Accidents can always happen, somebody could have got killed had he fired in the heat of the moment. I think the SP took the right decision,” an officer said.

Ghosh said he was “compelled” to whip out the gun, else “the sabhadhipati’s life could have been in danger”. “I did the right thing. About my uniform, I had asked sir. He allowed me to be in plain clothes.”

CPM sabhadhipati Uday Sarkar corroborated the guard’s comment, saying he had asked him to wear his uniform only during visits by VIPs.

A senior police officer in Burdwan said there was no rule that guards have to wear uniforms while on duty for political leaders or office bearers such as sabhadhipatis.

The police said Sarkar was on his way to his office in Burdwan when he asked his driver to stop the car on seeing a CPM leader getting beaten up by alleged Trinamul workers. The driver and the guard accompanied Sarkar.

“An altercation ensued with around 50 Trinamul workers, who then chased me for about 150m and caught me by the collar. I was scared. My security guard pulled out his revolver and shouted at the mob. They retreated. I went to Raina police station and narrated the incident,” Sarkar said.

Trinamul denied that its workers were involved. “The CPM sabhadhipati took his guard’s gun and threatened us. Our workers did not attack him,” said Sailen Sain, a local leader

Asked if he would request the district administration for another guard, Sarkar said: “I will accept only Madhusudan.”